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MCDs plan to install portable wash basins
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
The municipal corporations of Delhi will consult resident welfare associations (RWAs) and market traders associations (MTAs) to chalk out a strategy on installing portable wash basins in the city, officials said on Monday.
Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said in a press conference on Monday that he had asked the municipal corporations to install portable wash basins in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
“The number of wash basins to be set up and their locations will be decided after extensive discussions with people on the ground,” said Dr Ashok Rawat, medical health officer (MHO), North Delhi Municipal Corporation.
“We will talk to representatives of RWAs and MTAs. They will know the best. It might take a few days for the basins to become visible on the roads, and in a usable condition, as fresh water supply and sewerage collection will also have to be taken care of,” he said.
“Soaps will have to be procured in a few thousands and bottles of hand sanitisers. We wouldn’t want a negative press with soaps missing at basins,” an official of the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), who didn’t wish to be named, said.
Kejriwal said in a press conference on Monday said “wash basins will have to be arranged so that people can wash their hands more frequently. Hand sanitisers will also be put at entry and exit points of buildings.”
The Delhi Jal Board (DJB) said it was fully prepared to deal with any demand for water tankers for wash basins. “As of now, the summer water demand has not peaked. The potable washbasins will be fitted with small tankers, which will be filled at regular intervals,” said a senior DJB official, who did not wish to be named.
Meanwhile, the north and south corporations ordered on Monday all malls, hotels, motels, guesthouses, banquet halls, restaurants and eateries “will have to ensure that proper handwashing facilities are available at their entry points”. They will also ensure that there is no crowding or gathering at one particular site in their premises.
